Cats as situational awareness training aids

Okay, I'm a cat man. I've had a feral colony of tomcats outside for 20+ years and usually one too many of the furry monsters living inside. They have their own preps, bug out cages and supplies.

Something I've found that they are good for is keeping me always just on the edge of awareness, even as I sleep. There is always a crashing, bump, or scratching noise in the night. Any strange noise gets my immediate attention. I can determine direction, range and severity of the noise (picture frame vs Big Berkey getting knocked over) in a flash, even after being startled awake from a sound sleep.

When there are noises outside I can read their body language well enough to tell the difference between a cat bumping the screen door and a car arriving.

No telling when our nightly ritual may become more serious, but one thing is certain. Nobody is going to sneak up on me in my sleep.

Other than that, the cats I serve are pretty much lazy freeloaders.

HD

 

Noisy, lazy freeloaders, who keep you on your toes. Are we talking about cats or children? [rofllmao]

My cats do a pretty good job of keeping rats and snakes away from the barn and feed room. At least, that's what I tell myself to justify the twenty pounds of cat food they eat every week.

 

only one good use for cats...
target practice!

 

I love cats!!

They taste just like chicken!!

Matt

 

If you are reduced to feeding them, you must not have much of a rat/mouse/snake/general vermin problem. My two eat far less than that, but parking the litter box near the grain storage in my prep room has indeed kept it rodent free. It is a truly desperate rodent that would venture NEAR where it can smell cat feces and urine. Just what I do, YMMV.

As to situational awareness, I agree with the OP. My cats keep me on my toes, nocturnally. I live in a constant state of "yellow" all the time anyhow. At night when I hear unidentifiable noises, I am awake and "orange" immediately. I have had cats for the past 25 years, and they grow on you. They have always been for vermin control, but I have found they are profoundly relaxing when at rest, and they themselves are just one step from wild. They live in a constant "yellow" state of awareness, unlike many domestic dogs I have known. NOT KNOCKING DOGS, I own those too, and love them. It's just that I have owned, and loved some seriously "dee-dee-dee" dogs in my day.

Dee-Dee-Dee explained:
Dee Dee Dee song (Official Music Video) - YouTube

 

raising chickens where you can see bobcats, lynx, coyotes, bear, coon, possom, weasel and mink on a fairly daily basis, you dont ever let your guard down....lol

 

The best "watchdogs" that I have ever found are geese...loud as hell when strangers are near, and territorial enough to attack said strangers! I s*it you not!

 

Muscovey Ducks are nearly as mean.... but sadly too tough and oily to be edible except as a last resort.

 

Agree with Sapper J ...geese are great 'watch dogs' my father kept a small flock on the most remote part of our property and nothing made it past them without raising an alarm

 

Ever heard of a watch cat? LOL.

Seriously though I don't think you can get much better than a dog when it comes to alerting you if there is a problem in the house. I like cats and dogs.

 

I agree that cats can give you a heads up if something is amiss but I think that sometimes they are just plain crazy and do a freak out for no good reason so false alarms may occur.
We had guiney hens when I was a kid and man they could raise a rucas!
Geese are more more intimidating though.

 

Man that must have been an extremely OLD, Muscovy you ate. I raise and eat them. I got turned on to them as a food source because there is a high demand by gourmet restaurants. It is tender, flavorful, and extremely lean (more so than any mallard derivative). They are heat tolerant (they are a native of the southwest, Mexico and south America), and lay 90+ eggs a season - per duck. Once you go duck eggs you never go back.

I also like Muscovys because once their flight feathers are clipped, so they do not fly off, they are very low profile animals - the males hiss and the females have a grumble (low volume quack). if you are not standing on top of them, you would not know they are there. Stealth livestock, like rabbits.

I like the fact that the males weigh in at 11 pounds on average with massive amounts of breast meat. They are aggressive, yes if raised wrong, but you can re-train them - to a point. Kind of like a dumb dog. They HISS and pummel with their wings, and MAN when they BITE you. Wheeeee doggy, that bean (hook) on the end of their beak will take a chunk out of you if you are not careful.

 

In Vn, both ARVNs and CID-G used to keep chickens in the wire around their camps. They worked right well.